Most secondary school pupils think people have souls and life has a purpose

The majority of those questioned (52 per cent) also said that they agreed with the statement “I believe that life has an ultimate purpose” and 45 per cent believe in god.

But a an equal number - 45 per cent agreed with the statement “the scientific view is that God does not exist”.

New research being revealed today found that many pupils seemed to see their religious faith as a rejection of science.

Prof Berry Billingsley, of Canterbury Christ Church University, surveyed 670 pupils aged 14 to 17 across eight English secondary schools, asking them 43 questions about science and religion.

The survey found that 54 per cent of pupils agreed with the statement “I believe humans have souls”, with a further 24 per cent neither agreeing or disagreeing. The remaining 23 per cent disagreed. The proportion of pupils believing in a “soul” is larger than the number who believed in God.

Prof Billingsley said it may reflect the fact that many people believe there is more to their identity than what they may be being presented with in science lessons.

The figure for young people believing in god, 45 per cent, is lower than the proportion of adults who described themselves as religious in the last census - 67 per cent. The findings are being presented at the British Educational Research Association’s annual conference today.